Full-fashioned stocking and art or method of making same



Aug. 31, 1926. R. J. BAKER FULL FASHIONED STOCKING AND ART OR METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed May 15, 192

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ineniorj E Richard JBa-Zaer,

Aug 31, mm, 5 2

R. J. BAKER Aug. 3119 1926. 15%,23

R. J. BAKER FULL FASHIONED STOCKING AND ART OR METHOD OF MAKING SAME filed May 15. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug 311, mm. 3,598,263;

R. J.' BAKER FULL FASHIONED STOCKING AND ART OR METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed y 15. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Au. 31, 1926.

RICHLARD J. BER, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y., ASSXGNOR 'I'O VERTEX HOSIERY MILLS, INC., 01 'WEISSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, A CQRPORATION F PMINSYLVANIA.

FULL-FASHIUNED STOCKING AND ART 01R, IMETHOD OF MAKING SAME.

Application filed. May 13,

This invention relates to full fashionedstockings and the art or method of making the same.

In order that the principle of my invention may be readily understood, 1 have in the accompanyin drawings disclosed one embodiment of the stocking of my inventhe preferred method of making said stockl0 ings by showing enough of the operating or functioning parts and the various positions assumed thereby in carrying out my art or method and in manufacturing that part of the stocking to which my invention particularly relates.

In said drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of the outer face of a blank of a full fashioned stocking leg and indicating thereon the anti ravel ridge or formation to prevent runs in either direction, and particularly from the garter top;

Fig. 2 is a vertical' section through a portion of the fabric including said ridge, which latter is shown as though hollow in order that its structure may be readily apparent, it being understood that in actual practice the said ridge is substantially closed or solid;

Fig. 3 shows a portion of the front or outside of the completed fabric including a portion of the ridge or formation in completed condition, and clearly indicating that the ridge or formation is at the outer face of r the fabric;

Fig. 3 shows a portion of the back or in" .side of the completed fabric; and

Figs. 4 to 16 inclusive indicate in vertical section successive stops in the formation of the said ridge.

The stocking of my invention is a specific embodiment comprehended within the broad invent ion and claims of the patent to George H. Miller, No. 1,567,535, dated December 29, 1925, as will be apparent from theensuing description.

The stocking of my invention is a full fashioned one, and may be and desirably is of customary formation except as to the suitably located ridge (or ridges) formed in or upon the stocking desirably at the outer face thereof, to prevent runs, and preferably po- 1928. Serial N0. 108,850.

sitioned somewhat below the lower edge of stocking.

It is therefore unnecessary to describe at length either the stocking or the mechanism by which it is formed, it being pointed out I that the leg may be formed in one machine tion, and have in said drawings indicated (customarily equipped to knit about eighteen or twenty legs simultaneously, each from its own thread or threads, which legs are thereafter transferred to a so-called footer, by which the feet are formed, or in suitable cases the entire stocking may be formed upon the one machine, my invention being in no wise limited thereto in this respect.

The stocking leg blank is indicated at 1 in Fig. 1, the welt is indicated at 2 and a portion of the heel blanks at 3, said Fig. 1 showing the outer face of the fabric.

In the several views Figs. i to 16, the sinkers are indicated at 4. They may be the socalled welt at the upper end of the a and desirably are of usual formation and as to their structure or mode of operation, it being suilicient to state that after the thread has been laid across the needles 5 herein shown as vertical, the sinkers enter between every two needles, thereby sinking the thread, being actuated independently and in sequence, and being followed in their action by the dividers, which enter between those needles where no sinkers are present, and also followed at the proper time by knocking over bits 6.

It may be assumed that the stocking is begun in usual or customary manner at the upper end, and that a welt 2 is knitted at the upper end in any usual manner, though this is not essential to my invention, and the presence or absence of said welt is immaterial so far as my invention is concerned. I have already stated that one or more -socalled ridges may be formed in the practice of my invention, and that it or they may be formed at any desired point or points in the stocking to accomplish the desired rethe commencement of the knitting, and desirably upon the outer face of the fabric;

In actual practice, I prefer to form the ridge (encircling the stocking legwhen the latter is seamed) some eight or nine inches below the top of the stocking, though obviously my invention is in no wise limited in this respect. The said ridge is desirably a substantially solid or compact formation, appearing herein upon the outer face of the stocking, and in the making of which ridge a plurality of courses participate, such plurality being herein indicated 'as four, but obviously such plurality may be varied some-- what within the scope and purpose of my invention, as for example by causin three courses so to participate or a num er of courses not greatly in excess of four, which latter number gives excellent results.

Assuming, therefore, that the point in the stocking'formation has been reached where it is desired to form the said ridge, which completely encircles the stocking and as hereinbefore disclosed upon the outer face when the latter is completed, I proceed as follows:

Desirably at this point I knit a loose course but without as yet casting off the stitches, the needles 5 being drawn down so that the loops or stitches are held at a point where the sinkers and dividers are desirably about one quarter of an inch in front of the needles. With the parts in this position, the so-called welt hooks, which are indicated at 7 in Figs. 4 to 11 inclusive, and which are fixedly held in a so-called welt bar and are in number desirably equal to the number of knitting needles, are slid inwardly into position along suitable uide orsupporting strips desirably provided upon the machine, into the position shown in Fig. 4, being caused to enter respectively into and engage the sinker loops of the loose course (if a loose course be formed), reference being made also to Fig. 5 wherein I haveclearly indicated at 8 one of the sinker loops of this course which is entered by one of the said hooks.

While these welt hooks may beautomatically controlled or operated in carrying out my method and practicing my art, and thereby producing the article or product of my invention, preferably they are manually manipulated or operated, since they are caused to gothrou h various movements which, if automatical y imparted, would add to or greatl increase the complexity of the mechanism. Without, therefore, in any way excluding an automatic movement of the said welt hooks, I will herein refer to the movements as manually imposed, but merely for descriptive purposes, and in no wise as limiting or restricting my invention. I

The welt hooks having been brought into the position shown in Fig. 4, the needles drawn down their respective needle loops so as to draw down the sinker loops onto the said welt books as indicated in said figure, and in this way the said welt hooks are caused, as previously stated, to enter respectively into or to receive the said sinker loops, and in the ensuing operation the needle loops of this course are completed in usual manner.

The thread (which is desirably the same identical thread that knits the part of the stocking immediately preceding and immediately succeeding the said ridge 0r formation, and which ridge is therefore of the same color as the stocking, or immediately adjacent parts of the stocking) is now laid a suitable number of times across all the needles, such number of courses being desirably and as herein indicated four in number excluding said first mentioned loose course, though, as previously stated, my invention is not restricted or limited thereto. During the laying of these four courses, being two to the left and two to the right, the thread is still retained in the said welt hook 7, and the stitches or loops of the said four or other selected number of courses are completed, and are cast off in each course in is also a slack course, this being desirable.

but not essential, though by forming such second slack course, I have attained the best results.

Referring now to Fig. 5 and subsequent figures, the four courses referred to are indicated at 8, 9, 10, 11, the old or preceding portion of the work being indicated at A in Fig. 5 and subsequent figures.

Each of the Welt hooks 7 is desirably provided with a longitudinal groove in its back for the purpose of permitting the following steps or certain of them to be carried out in the most satisfactory manner.

I have stated that the welt hooks engage the sinker loops and thus that entire course of the knitting is held or engaged by the welt hooks while the said four or other desired number of immediately succeeding courses are laid. That course of the knitting which is now as shown in Fig. 5 upon the welt hooks, is next to be transferred back to the needles. In that specifically disclosed form or embodiment of the broad invention of the said patent to Miller, No. 1,567,535,

r the welt carrying bar was moved to the right or the left some suitable number of needles before transferring 'the said held course back to the needles. In accordance with my invention, I do not shift laterally the welt bar the distance of one or more needles, but move the welt bar directly inward and then place the sinker loops each upon the needle that previously had had formed thereon the 1,5ae,2ee

needle loops of the needle Wale next to the sinker Wale of the specified sinker loop. In other words, each sinker loop which was engaged by a welt hook as in Fig. 4-, is now transferred onto the needle next adjacent to the place where said sinker loop was originally formed.

This result is accomplished without, as stated, shifting the welt bar to the right or left to the extent of one or more needles as described in the said Miller Patent No. 1,567,535, but the result is nevertheless to provide a lateral transfer of loops, inasmuch as each sinker loop is in the'restoration of the course taken from the needles, placed upon the needle next adjacent to the place where that sinker loop was formed, and hence the lateral transfer is the transfer occurring in placing a sinker loop upon the next adjacent needle. I

The said sinker loops are transferred to the needles by placing the grooves of the welt hooks so that the hooks of the respective needles are received therein as indicated in Fig. 6. The number of courses participating in the formation of the ridge is not fixed or invariable but is sufficient in any case to form a substantially prominent but compact ridge and is desirably upon the outer face of the stocking.

In effecting the said transfer of the sinker loops each onto the needle next adjacent to the original or forming position of such sinker loop, the welt bar which has been in the position indicated in Fig. 5 is inverted or turned through 180 degrees, so as to get the loops or stitches to the base of welt hooks, after which the welt bar is turned back again and is brought into the position shown in Fig. 6, and in effecting the transfer of the sinker loops from the welt hooks onto the needles, the movements indicated in Figs. 5 to 10 are gone through with, the hooks being released from the sinker loops by the moven'ient indicated in Fig. 11.

The result is that there are now on each needle the needle loop last formed thereon and the sinker loop which has just been po-. sitioned thereon by the respective welt hook and these two'loops on each needle are now to be brought to the lower part of each needle; this step in the operation is indicated in Fig. 12. Next, the needles still remaining elevated, another course is laid across all the needles as indicated in Fig. 13, and the loops of this course are completed by the functioning of the usual parts of the mechanism, as indicated in Figs. 14: and 15, and finally the said loops are cast ofl (Fig. 16 indicating that such step of casting ofi' has occurred) and in so doing the loops of such new course are drawn through the loops of the first and fourth courses of the ridge; that is, each of said new loops, one of which is indicated at '12 in Figs. 2 and 16, is drawn through both loops 8 and 11 of the ridge, thus producing the structure shown in plan in Fig. 3, but shown in an open or hollow and hence exaggerated condition in Fig. 2, so that the structure may be clear. The complete ridge or formation is indicated at 13 in Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 1, it is shown as extending from one lateral edge or selvage to the opposite lateral edge or selvage, and when the stocking is seamed up the back of the leg and along the foot, the said ridge or formation extends entirely about the stocking upon the outer face thereof at the point indicated, or elsewhere'as desired. It will be clear from the foregoing description that the stocking knitted; that is to say, it is knitted upon a single set of needles as plain work and is not of a ribbed construction as is the characteristic of stockings or parts thereof knitted upon two cooperating sets or banks of needles.

The said ridge, or roll as it may be termed, serves to prevent the formation of runners from the garter, customarily attached orsecured to the welt of the stocking, inasmuch as the described formation with the sinker loops laterally transferred or shifted onto the needles respectively next adjacent to the positions where said sinker loops each respectively originated, serves with the bunched or compacted condition of the ridge effectively to lock the loops or stitches so that the breaking of the thread in a course above the lock, contrary to what is-the case of stockings knitted in the usual manner, will not permit the spreading out of the is plain v thread in the same wale in the course below the lock, and therefore will not permit the thread at the opposite side of the look from the break to lose the looped form imposed thereon in the knitting operation, and so continue down (or extend up) the leg to form a runner. The said locking is effected I at whichever side of the ridge, formation or roll the break starts and prevents its spreading to the other side thereof, but it is of particular value in preventing a break occurring in the garter top from extending down the leg.

It will be evident from. an analysis of the ridge, formation or roll that the entire ciroumference of the stocking is locked against runners in either direction.

In plain knitted fabric, if a break occurs in a sinker Wale, a run will result in that wale in the direction in which the knitting has progressed. If, in plain knitted fabric,

a break occurs in a needle wale, a run will result in a direction opposite to that in which knitting has progressed. That is to say, in a plain knitted fabric there is liability of a run in the direction in whiclrthe knitting has progressed, as well as in-the contrary direction, depending upon whether the break occurred in a sinker Wale or in a needle wale. In either case, the run results through the successive releasing of the portions of the thread in the sinker loops of the sinker wale or the needle loops of the needle Wale.

' In the stnicture of my invention, however, the ridge-like formation constitutes a lock against a run either in the direction'of the knitting in a sinker wale or in a direction contrary to the direction of knitting in a needle wale; in other words, the ridge-like formation 'of my inventionconstitutes a lock against a run in either or both directions. The most troublesome runs are those starting in a sinker wale in the welt and extending down the leg of the stocking. These are effectively stopped by the ridge of my invention.

The bunching of several courses together as described into a substantially solid mass whereof the sinker loops of one of the courses, and desirably the last, are laterally shifted or transferred so as each .to be placed upon the needle next to the place of its origin, constitutes an important feature of my invention. The said substantially solid bunching effectively cooperates with the said lateral transfer or shifting of the sinker loops in the formation of a lock, and the presence of the two features,the bunching and the lateral transfer or shifting of the sinker loopsin the described ridge is characteristic of my invention.

The described lateral shifting or transfer of the sinker loops cannot be accomplished by engaging said sinker loops by the welt hooks immediately upontheir formation and immediately thereupon attempting to effect a lateral shifting or transfer onto the needles. This would merely-take the needle loops of that course off the needles; it is necessary to provide at least one course between the engagement of the sinker loops by the welt loops and the positioning of said sinker loops onto the needles, and as stated I prefer to provide a plurality of the courses,herein four. There is thus a vital cooperation between the features of my invention. i

The full fashioned stocking of my invention herein disclosed desirably has a welt at its upper end. While my invention not limited to a stocking having a welt, the ridge desirably occurs below the welt when the latter is present.

Having thus disclosed the referred embodiment of the fabric or article of my invention and the best mode known to me for producing the same, I desire it to be understood that although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of -limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

Claims. 7

1. A plain knitted stocki g having a transversely extending, ridge-like, runnerpreventing formation continuous about the stocking and formed upon every needle wale, said formation being composed of a plurality of consecutive courses and a course whereof the sinker loops are each laterally transferred onto the needle wale next adjacent the place of origin of such sinker loop.

2. A plain knitted stocking having a transversely extending, ridge-like, runnerpreventing format-ion continuous about the stocking and formed upon every needle wale, said formation being composed of a plurality of immediately successive courses and a course subsequent thereto and whereof the sinker loops are each laterally shifted onto the needle wale next adjacent the place of origin of such sinker loop.

3. A full fashioned, plain knitted stucking having a welt at its upper end and also having u on the outer surface of the stocking a ri ge-like, runner-preventing formation continuous about the fabric from edge to edge thereof and formed on every needle wale, saidformation being com osed of a plurality of immediately successlve courses and a course subsequent thereto and whereof the sinker loops are each laterally shifted onto the needle wale next adjacent the place of origin of such sinker loop.

4. That method of roducing a runnerpreventing formation 1n a full fashioned, plain knitted stocking, oonsisting in knitting, subsequent to .the initial courses of the fabric, a ridge consisting of all the loops of a plurality of consecutive courses and a succeeding course whereof all the sinker loops are respectively laterally shifted each onto that needle wale that is next adjacent to the place of origin of such sinker loop.

5. That method of producing a runnerpreventing formationin a plain knitted stocking, consisting in knitting, subsequent to the initial courses of the fabric, a ridge consisting of all the loops of a pluralit of courses and also a course whereof al the sinker loops are respectively laterally shifted each onto that needle wale that is next adjacent to the place of origin of such sinker loop.

6. That method of roducing a runnerpreventing formation in a full fashioned, plain knitted stocking, having a welt at its upper end, consisting in engaging by welt hooks each sinker loop of a course subsequent to said welt whereby said course is taken onto the welt hooks, then knitting a plurality of immediately successive courses of that said welt-hook-held course each onto that needle wale that is next adjacent to the place of origin of such sinker loop.

7. That method of producing a runnerpreventing formation in a full fashioned, plain knitted stocking, consisting in engaging by welt hooks each sinker loop of a course whereby said course is taken onto the welt hooks, then knitting a plurality of imniediately successive courses while that said 10 course is still engaged by the welt hooks, then placing the sinker loops of that said welt-hook-held course each onto that needle Wale that is next adjacent to the place of origin of such sinker loop.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

RICHARD J. BAKER. 

